U.S. Specialty Coffee
I researched specialty coffee while developing a distribution business for Musa Vale, a Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee brand.
Why this research is personal
I’m working on developing a distribution company for Musa Vale, which sells Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Before making decisions about where and how to sell it, I needed a better understanding of the specialty coffee market.
I also took the time to get licensed as a coffee roaster. This is a business I have a personal interest in, and I wanted to understand more than the branding: the product, the customer, the routes to market, and the economics of distribution.
This research is part of that preparation. It helps me think through where Musa Vale could fit and which questions I still need to answer before expanding the business.
Questions behind the report
- Who buys specialty coffee, and what do consumption surveys actually tell me?
- How do retail, café, and distribution channels differ?
- What would I need to know before putting a credible market-size or sales estimate behind the business?
Read the work
A note on the research
The updated supplement distinguishes survey release dates and consumption measures from dollar market size. It supersedes the older consumption reference where specified.
The source dates and assumptions are included in the documents.